Budget copied and pasted: Saleem Mandviwala

Islamabad: Finance Secretary Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Saleem Mandviwala said on Sunday that the budget was copied and pasted for three years.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday with Haider Zaman Qureshi and Faisal Rathore, he said the budget was not presented by the cabinet.

New taxes of Rs 727 billion are being levied in this budget, he said. The finance minister wreaked havoc by imposing indirect taxes. Tax was imposed on the goods bought via online. The government also taxed what was not taxed before. Imposition of 17% sales tax on crude oil, which means the price of oil will also increase further. Gas and petrol are becoming more expensive.

Every year, the PTI’s target has been the destruction of the tax collection system. A government that doesn’t know how to collect taxes can present budget. This budget was presented without cabinet approval. The government says no taxes have been levied but 27 billion indirect taxes have been imposed. There has been talk of increasing the petroleum levy. Soon the petrol will increase 20 rupees per litre and it will directly affect the poor. LNG is also going to be 17% more expensive.

Gas prices are also rising. The price of sugar has already reached one hundred rupees per kilogram. GST of Rs 7 has been imposed on the price of sugar. The government should not impose taxes on online shopping items that were not taxed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The IMF board meeting removed Pakistan from its agenda. The finance minister has admitted that the IMF agreement was wrong. There are 4 points left to get out of the gray list which the government is not able to meet. He said that no NFC award has been announced for seven years. Hopefully Shaukat Tareen will look into the NFC issue.

The government has imposed a 17% tax on crude oil. The government has also imposed a tax on LNG after reviewing the tax levied. Prices of petroleum products are likely to rise. There is no relief for the common man in the budget. The country’s exports have not increased in seven years. If the PPP government comes, we will increase exports.

Negotiations with the IMF will improve if Shaukat Tareen holds them anew. The SBP governors are the people of the IMF. IMF people are negotiating with the IMF. The seven men of the IMF have also spoken. Neither the government nor the SBP answered my questions, Mandviwala said. Mobile phone manufacturing should start and mobile phone imports should be banned.

Haider Zaman Qureshi said that the government has set aside Rs 12 billion for agriculture. Fertilizer prices are higher while in neighboring countries are lower. Agriculture has made tube-well units more expensive. The government should give discounted packages on agriculture. The government has subsidized electronic vehicles. Allow them to import spare parts.

Faisal Rathore said that Azad Kashmir elections were announced to be held on July 25. Voter lists were posted on June 10. The names of our voters were also removed from the voter lists. In one seat, the names of 5,000 voters were cut to 2,300 by using new software. Since The PP is in a position to form a government in Azad Kashmir, the government is conspiring to steal it.